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Ukraine seeks support after gas cut
Source: Agencies |
January 3, 2009, Saturday
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UKRAINE sought support yesterday in European capitals a day after Russia cut off gas supplies and hardened its stance on prices.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that it, too, was ready to explain its position in the dispute to Europe, asking for a special session of the European Commission to address the question.
But there were no face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia as of late yesterday afternoon, a day after Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom cut off gas to Ukraine, saying it had failed to pay an outstanding US$2.1 billion bill.
For the moment, the two countries instead fought a public relations war.
A Ukrainian delegation headed by Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, and including the deputy chief of gas company Naftogaz, Volodymyr Chuprun, visited Prague, the Czech Republic, and Bratislava, Slovakia, on its way to Brussels for meetings with officials.
"Our aim is to explain our position to our European partners on the situation which arose in the gas sphere," Bohdan Sikolovsky, energy adviser to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, told The Associated Press. "We are informing them on how the negotiations are going, we are stating our negotiating position."
Sikolovsky said Ukraine was trying to reassure its neighbors that it would not interrupt gas supplies.
"We told them that Ukraine is fulfilling all of its transit obligations and they have no doubts about that," he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said yesterday Russia was ready to go to Brussels as well to make its case to the European Union.
Many in the West viewed a 2006 Russian cutoff of gas to Ukraine as an effort to punish Ukraine's political leaders for their pro-Western policies.
That cutoff, which temporarily affected supplies to Europe, also led to accusations that Russia was an unreliable source of energy.
This year, both countries have pledged they would keep gas flowing through Ukraine's pipeline system to the rest of Europe.
Despite the apparent absence of talks, there seemed to be little sense of urgency.
Experts say both Ukraine and Europe have significant stockpiles of gas. Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas utility said it had seen no disruption to Russian gas deliveries yesterday -- although it said any effects would not be noticeable until the beginning of next week because of the distance the gas travels.
In any case, "we have nearly 25 percent of our annual needs ... in reserves, so that even if gas volumes from Russia were to be reduced, we are well prepared," German Economy Ministry spokeswoman Beatrix Brodkorb said in Berlin.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that it, too, was ready to explain its position in the dispute to Europe, asking for a special session of the European Commission to address the question.
But there were no face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia as of late yesterday afternoon, a day after Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom cut off gas to Ukraine, saying it had failed to pay an outstanding US$2.1 billion bill.
For the moment, the two countries instead fought a public relations war.
A Ukrainian delegation headed by Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, and including the deputy chief of gas company Naftogaz, Volodymyr Chuprun, visited Prague, the Czech Republic, and Bratislava, Slovakia, on its way to Brussels for meetings with officials.
"Our aim is to explain our position to our European partners on the situation which arose in the gas sphere," Bohdan Sikolovsky, energy adviser to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, told The Associated Press. "We are informing them on how the negotiations are going, we are stating our negotiating position."
Sikolovsky said Ukraine was trying to reassure its neighbors that it would not interrupt gas supplies.
"We told them that Ukraine is fulfilling all of its transit obligations and they have no doubts about that," he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said yesterday Russia was ready to go to Brussels as well to make its case to the European Union.
Many in the West viewed a 2006 Russian cutoff of gas to Ukraine as an effort to punish Ukraine's political leaders for their pro-Western policies.
That cutoff, which temporarily affected supplies to Europe, also led to accusations that Russia was an unreliable source of energy.
This year, both countries have pledged they would keep gas flowing through Ukraine's pipeline system to the rest of Europe.
Despite the apparent absence of talks, there seemed to be little sense of urgency.
Experts say both Ukraine and Europe have significant stockpiles of gas. Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas utility said it had seen no disruption to Russian gas deliveries yesterday -- although it said any effects would not be noticeable until the beginning of next week because of the distance the gas travels.
In any case, "we have nearly 25 percent of our annual needs ... in reserves, so that even if gas volumes from Russia were to be reduced, we are well prepared," German Economy Ministry spokeswoman Beatrix Brodkorb said in Berlin.
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